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Meyers wrestling celebrates final Hall of Fame class with merger looming

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Around town: Take advantage of networking get-togethers

<p>Wow! We&#8217;re approaching the end of January, but we still can&#8217;t believe it&#8217;s already 2019.</p><p>2018 was a whirlwind to say the least.</p><p>If you&#8217;ve been following us at Northeast Sight Services, you&#8217;d know that 2018 was monumental. As we entered into our centennial year with a brand new name and bright outlook for our future, we also had the opportunity to reflect and remember how we got where we are today.</p><p>We once again want to thank everyone for their incredible support through this past year. And hope that you will continue on this journey with us.</p><p>And that&#8217;s what it is. It&#8217;s a journey. One that we&#8217;ve loved reflecting on, but a journey that is nowhere near over. And so we&#8217;ve spent these last few weeks mapping out plans for not only this year, the first year of Northeast Sight Services&#8217; new century, but also what we need to do as an organization to be relevant and progressive in the work we do.</p><p>The incidence of vision loss is not going to decline any time soon. In fact, according to projections based on the most recent census data and from studies funded by the National Eye Institute, it is expected that by 2050, the number of people with visual impairments or blindness in the United States will double to more than 8 million. People are living longer and more chronic health conditions exist, such as diabetes, which really makes this issue an epidemic for not only our country, but for our local community.</p><p>The good news is that there are organizations, like ours, that focus solely on the issues related to blindness and visual impairments. And so we take the opportunity, at every given chance, to expand and enhance the programs we currently offer to impact those who need it the most.</p><p>Twenty years ago, it would have been inconceivable that your Nokia flip phone could have the potential to be the most accessible item that you own &#8211; magnifying text, responding to voice commands, describing images, among so many other features. Assistive technology has changed substantially with smart phones and at a rate so rapid that people are having a difficult time keeping up. This is going to continue, and our programs need to keep up in these ways.</p><p>Stay tuned! You&#8217;re going to continue to hear a lot from us on what we&#8217;re doing, how we&#8217;re helping people adjust to life with vision loss, but also the efforts we&#8217;re making to continue to stay on the cutting edge of the best practices to help those with visual impairments in all facets of their lives. We&#8217;re starting these conversations now: how best to work with our clients in order to help them live more independently, how to reach people who have not traditionally reached out to us for services, and how to make the entire community more accessible for this population.</p><p>We&#8217;re not slowing down &#8211; and I&#8217;m not sure we ever will &#8211; but we hope you&#8217;re along for the ride. Happy 2019 &#8211; here&#8217;s to another great year!</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Sara Gorgone Peperno</p><p>Guest Columnist</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Sara Gorgone Peperno is the president and CEO of Northeast Sight Services. She contributes a monthly column to the Times Leader.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Their view: No time to rest on our laurels at Northeast Sight Services